All Grown Up
by verbal acuity
Summary: 30 Kisses challenge - HiyoKiri - To Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi, Kirihara was really growing up - theme #8, oneshot.


**30 Kisses - All Grown Up**

**Pairing**: Hiyoshi/Kirihara  
**Theme**: #8 - our own world  
**Disclaimer**: The characters belong to Konomi Takeshi.  
**Progress**: 3/30  
**Notes**: 30 kisses challenge on LJ. Inform me of any missed coding. This has a bit of one-sided Yanagi/Kirihara, unrequited from the looks of it. Poor Yanagi.  
**Warning (though it isn't really a warning)**: This isn't too good. Set in any view other than Kirihara or Hiyoshi's. It's only a small touch of Hiyoshi/Kirihara.

* * *

Everyone always thought that Yanagi was the rock to Kirihara's storm; he was the one to always calm him down when he went into devil mode, and make sure he ate and slept right when he came to school exceptionally pale some mornings. When Kirihara seemed upset, Yanagi was the first to notice, and the first to tell Sanada to give him a break. Yanagi cared... and Kirihara appreciated it.

But Yanagi wasn't the one that made Kirihara happy. It was a hollow feeling he had whenever his senpai was around; something platonic. No one ever gave it a thought that he didn't care about the Data Master like the Data Master cared about him.

The Trickster was close to figuring it out; he was the closest. And the Gentleman was right behind him, figuratively breathing down his neck that he _knew_-- knew more than his kouhai let on. But the junior ace didn't let his senpais bother him. He could evade when the time was right... but the time wasn't right. They'd catch on sooner or later, and he was just waiting for them all to snap: "Traitor!"

If buchou knew, he didn't let on. He simply smiled at Kirihara like he always had, like nothing was wrong; like nothing had _ever_ been wrong. It was just a normal day at Rikkai Dai: Niou planting cans of paint above the clubroom door for Sanada to walk into (something about Sanada not having enough color in his life, and really needing the lime green hat to fix that), Marui chewing gum and badmouthing Jackal teasingly, Yagyuu trying to talk Niou out of doing anything else stupid, and Yanagi scribbling in his data book.

Yukimura always sat at the sidelines, watching from afar his team act like their normal, silly selves, smiling all the while. His dark eyes traveled to the youngest on the team and settled there as he practiced. His smile turned softer than it had been previously. Kirihara was growing and learning more, and Yukimura enjoyed watching that growth.

An ordinary day, that is, until one certain Hyoutei regular came to practice five minutes before they were dismissed to go home.

Yukimura smiled, Sanada scowled, and Yanagi promptly dropped his data book. This was data to be collected, the data player said to himself, but couldn't bring himself to look away as Hiyoshi Wakashi stepped towards _his_ kouhai, the red blush rising up on the pale face.

"Our Akaya's growing up, isn't he, Sanada... Renji?" Yukimura asked, smile bright and cheerful, and turned to his teammates. Sanada forced down a growl and settled on a civil eye twitch, but the pencil that Yanagi had been holding snapped like a twig between his fingers. "Renji?"

"Akaya!" Yanagi said, as loud as he could muster without his voice snapping, and stood up. He forced himself to remain where he was standing. There was something about someone making _his_ Akaya have that reaction... and he wanted to stake his claim before anything terrible happened.

A hand on his arm made his blood run cold and he froze in place, breathing calm. Yukimura stood right next to him. "...Seiichi?" Sanada stood up, now on Yanagi's other side. "Genichirou?"

"Yanagi, maybe you should get ready and go home," Sanada said, firmly, and adjusted his hat. "You look like you need a good rest." From Yanagi's other side, Yukimura nodded, still smiling. "Go on."

Niou, across the courts, ceased all kissy faces he was making in his kouhai's direction, and tried to force himself not to shout out, "Don't go in there, Yanagi!" when he looked the three demons' way. It would just put more pressure and blame on him, though it really was his fault that whoever walks into the clubroom first would be lime green for a week. But hey, Yanagi was smart enough to figure it out himself; he was the Data Master, after all.

When Yanagi was out of earshot, Yukimura whispered to Sanada:

"It's like they're in their own world. No one but them exist. Our Akaya really is growing up."

And Sanada couldn't help but nod, whether he agreed or not.


End file.
